Heavy rain likely on Saturday too

Many parts of the State continued to receive heavy rainfall on Friday, even as the northeast monsoon remained active.

Among the areas that received the heavy rain were Meenambakkam and Avinasi (Tirupur district) — 9 cm each; Perundurai, Nungambakkam and Kalpakkam — 8 cm each Poonamallee and Ponneri — 7 cm each.

Educational institutions in Chennai and the neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur remained closed .

An official of the Meteorological Department said an upper air cyclonic circulation over Sri Lanka and the adjoining Gulf of Mannar and other areas persisted. Many parts of the State, both in the north and the south, would receive heavy rain on Saturday too.

Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam held a meeting with senior Ministers and officials at the Secretariat. Chief Secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath and Commissioner of Revenue Administration T.S. Sridhar briefed him on the situation.

Secretaries of various departments, who were appointed monitoring officers for the districts, were asked to visit the rain-hit areas. While some of them have left Chennai for their respective districts, others are on their way, an official said.

The government has asked the Collectors to visit vulnerable areas and keep the official machinery fully prepared. The monitoring officers were also advised to oversee the preparations of the district administration.

People could contact the State Emergency Operations Centre (toll free no. 1070); the control room in districts (1077); Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (1912) and the Chennai Corporation (1913).